Headlines
by Ted Wakeman
Summary: It's been 9 months since Arthur finally learned he had a life worth living.  However, with Blu and Jewel's first chick on the way, and an old foe returning to seek revenge on Blu, how in the world will Arthur solve this?  Sequel to "The Big Scoop".
1. In the Life

First of all, THANK YOU for the feedback you gave me on "The Big Scoop". That was honestly one of the most fun stories I've written, and I couldn't have POSSIBLY thought of a sequel to it. However, the show must go on. I'll warn you beforehand that this IS a sequel, and that you MUST read "The Big Scoop" on my profile page before you read this story. Not much will make sense, but if you think you can make sense out of it, then I suppose you're allowed to read it...XD. Also included in this first chapter is a recap of 'The Big Scoop'. While I stress that you SHOULD read the first story...I suppose you can make sense out of it after reading the story recap that pops up first thing in this story of mine...

So, this story is going to take place right around the time of when Jewel and Blu are ready to have their first chick, as requested by a reviewer of my first fic...Hehe. Everything basically continues off The Big Scoop, only it's about 6-9 months later. Nothing has exactly changed incredibly (Besides 1 or 2 things), so you guys get a lucky break and have a (mostly) fresh continuation from the original.

So now I'll stop babbling, and you can read my newest story and, quite frankly, my first fanfiction sequel,

**_HEADLINES_**

**_..._**

Chapter 1

In the Life

It was yet another peaceful start to a morning in the jungle. Life was now simple and good. Things were relaxed and easy. The sun rose, and the whole city of Rio would come alive. People would flock out to enjoy themselves under bright blue sky, kids would come out to play... and the birds, of course, would come out to sing the songs of their hearts. The sun restarting the daily routine each time it rose.

Of course, there was one bird who was fairly new to it all. He had only arrived little less than a year ago. His name, of course, was Blu. The Spix Macaw had arrived only about 8 months ago, and immediately was caught up both in an adventure and in the beauty of this new world he'd never seen. Everything came into place in the young Spix's life and Blu finally felt he had a straight-shot for a happy life, but soon enough, another short adventure began. Only a few days after Blu's life with Jewel as mates began, a new tourist arrived by the name of Arthur. He was of the same species, despite the belief that Blu and Jewel were the last. Apparently, he had been cooped up with a reporter named Andrew for 18 years before, and had lived a hollow life with no friends or family. Life without any love, or any other birds (Besides an insane hawk who met his own end recently), or something to live for. That is, until he discovered Rio, and instantly fell in love with it all. The style, the music, the general insanity and party atmosphere... However, it didn't occur to him until after he stared death in the face that he had all the reason and opportunity he needed to life a life of love and compassion right in front of him. Arthur decided to live the rest of his life in this jungle, along with the young couple who were last of his kind, as well as his wonderful friends... And of course, his lovely parakeet mate, Petricious.

Getting back to the sunrise, the trees began to take their form. The leaves, the powerful, stone-hard trunks, and the various hollows that sheltered millions of birds. All the birds of a feather did what they loved most of all... And they made this clear in song. However, today was different. The air, the mood, the whole world felt that it was time for a change in beat. And of course, who else could provide but the dance-talented and music-talented Spix macaws, who both poked their heads out of their hollows. Arthur and Blu, both living with their lovely lady-love hawks, lived in trees right next to each other, so they could easily spot each other every day. Instead of bidding hellos to each other, Arthur decided to follow what Blu had told him the first day they met, the rythm of his heart, and that rythm was to SING.

_Every part of my heart, I'm giving out._

_Every song on my lips, I'll sing it out._

_Every fear in my soul, I'm letting go._

_And anyone who asks, I let 'em know._

Petricious then popped her head out and nudged Arthur lovingly, who smiled back with the same expression.

_She's the one, she's the one_

_I'll say it loud._

_She's the one, she's the one_

_I'll say it proud._

_Ring a bell, ring a bell for the whole crowd._

_Ring a bell, ring a bell!_

The whole forest then erupted into music, but it was a strange shift from Arthur's emotional song to a much more gleeful song, led by Wally, Arthur's seagull friend who had come along to Rio. Wally mustered his voice up and began singing with a newly-acquired Brazilian accent.

_Yellow yellow road, the one I do not follow._

_Wizard of Oz, man?_

_That stuff is gettin' hollow!_

Pedro and Nico then jumped into, picking up Wally's beat. Of course, Pedro kept the song going.

_I need somethin' new,_

_somethin' with a fresh beat!_

_Nico: Samba, boy that brings out the heat!_

Wally, Nico and Pedro all sung together now, their voices synchronizing together.

_Flyin' high!_

_Gonna spread my wings and fly!_

Arthur jumped down, and then added himself into the action.

_No wings to fly,_

_but I'm still ganna live my life!_

_Pedro: Nothing better than soaring,_

_blue skies flyin'!_

_Nico: If I said that wasn't living, I sure as heck would be lyin'!_

_Journies like nothin'!_

_Life worth livin'!_

_Wanna live your life?_

_Your wings better start flappin'!_

Blu then flew down and changed the mood back to him and Arthur, who now continued their performance.

_We're telling the world, that we found our girls!_

_The birds we can live for!_

_The ones who deserve!_

Arthur shot a smile over to Blu, who returned the expression as well.

"No matter how many times we do this, this beats an alarm clock." Arthur laughed as he walked off along with Wally, ready to start another day in his spectacular new life in Rio de Janiero.

...

The sun had grown to its highest point, bringing to life the city of Rio de Janiero, and every being, feathers or not, was out and about, going on with their lives. Arthur was one of those birds making his way through the forest... Only he was walking. This was Krieg's doing only about 8 months ago, when he fired a nail into the Spix's wing. While Artie ended up making it out alive, his left wing was out of the equation, and was deemed by everyone at the Blu Bird Sanctuary to be permanently damaged. While not entirely disheartened, it was still a huge loss to Arthur, especially considering it was the greatest part about being a bird, and what he believed was a difference between the birds and the humans...

However, the show still had to go on, and the bird who knew this most was Arthur. Arthur continued to make his way throug the forest, until he finally spotted a familiar small clearing below a patio. While it was familiar to to him, it was even more familiar to Blu. It happened to be the same area where he spent his first night in Rio. That wasn't exactly a nice memory for him, but... There was the next morning where they met up with a certain group of Toucan kids.

Speaking of which, Arthur was looking for a certain Toucan by the name of Rafael.

"Hey Raf! You here, man? C'mon, we need to get going if we wanna go down to Copacabana before we hit The Branch tonight!" Arthur called out, trying to find his Toucan buddy. All of the sudden, a loud chirp reverberated from behind Arthur. Arthur spun around quickly to see Javier, one of Rafael's 18 children.

"Hi Uncle Artie!" Javier exclaimed with his high-pitched voice as he jumped on top of Arthur's head, socking him straight in the eye. Arthur laughed heartily, running around in circles with the small toucan clutching onto his head.

"C'mon Javvie! I'm just trying to find your Dad!" Arthur laughed as he ran around in circles wildly. All of the sudden, more Toucan kids came flying out and then grabbed onto Arthur, basically making his blue color almost hidden among the toucans on top of him. Yells of "Hi Uncle Artie!" could be heard constantly as the Spix macaw toppled to the ground in a heap, constant laughing coming from the Toucan kids, as well as Arthur, who was laughing out of pure enjoyment of the young kids having a fun time with him.

"Alright! Alright! Everyone off Arthur before you strangle him to death!" Arthur could hear Rafael exclaim from a few feet away. Arthur was finally uncovered from the Toucan kids and met eyes with Raphael.

"Boy, they get stronger all the time, eh?" Arthur laughed as he brushed himself off and slowly eyed himself, looking for any missing feathers. After all, these were _Rafael's _children.

"And you wanted kids..." Rafael joked as he shooed the last of his kids off to play somewhere else.

"Yeow!" Arthur yelped, turning around to see Jose, another one of Rafael's kids. Unfortunetly, this happened to be the same kid that was fond of feathers.

"This kid and feathers! Guess I shoulda waited a minute before checking myself. Makes me think he'll grow up to be like that old Krieg...Crazy old coot." Arthur muttered as Rafael attempted to pry off Jose from the Spix's tail.

"So, shall we be off to Copacabana?" Rafael asked from behind, as a rip suddenly echoed from behind Arthur, signifying that Jose had become detached from his tail.

"Oh, c'mon Daddy! Can't Uncle Artie stay a little longer?" Javier whined as all the other Toucans chimed in, to which Arthur glanced at Rafael with a smug smile, obviously winning over the kids.

"Alright! Uncle Artie can stay!" Arthur exclaimed, which was replied to with cheers by the Toucan chicks. Arthur then ran off with the kids, apparently playing a variation of 'Tag'.

"That crazy Macaw sure can entertain the kids..." Eva muttered, almost scaring Rafael out of his skin.

"Yeah...You know he's wanted kids for a while now?" Rafael asked as he continued to watch the kids enjoy themselves with their Uncle Artie.

"He'd make a good father... And _he'd_ make_ you_ have fun with the kids for a change." Eva joked lovingly. Rafael gave a small chuckle and then continued to watch the kids run around with Arthur, all of them enjoying themselves.

"Ow, that's the wing!" Arthur laughed as the kids piled on top of him after he was knocked over. Truthfully, his wing did actually hurt when the kids piled onto him, but it didn't matter. Earning the love and respect of the next generation was a huge focus for Arthur. After all, the kids needed a role model to look up to... Something that Arthur never had, himself...

...

Meanwhile, Blu was watching the millions of birds passing by. It was a beautiful sight, and what made it even more incredible was that this was his environment, his _element_. he had lived here for almost a year now, and it still hadn't sunk in. It was a joy every time he thought about how lucky he was. What was even greater was that he had a wonderful bird like Jewel to live with. And best of all was the fact that they were currently expecting a chick right now...

"BLU!"

Speaking of which...

"Coming!"

Blu quickly bolted inside their tree to see Jewel, who was currently resting in their nest. Next to her was the precious egg that the two had been taking care of for the past 6 months. Blu ran over with a concerned look, wanting to make sure if anything was wrong.

"What's wrong honey? Something wrong?" Blu asked. All the emotional tension that had occurred the past months had really taken a toll on him. The fact that the egg was controlling their lives didn't help either, but it was worth it. It was all for his love of Jewel and his desire to be a father. After all, they were the last chance their species had... Unless Arthur had any plans.

"Nothing's wrong...I just wish we'd just sit and talk for once and a while...We're really going to need it for when little Carlos comes out." Jewel said with a smile, nodding to the egg next to her. Blu thought for a moment, and then nudged Jewel lovingly.

"I know...So, what do you want to talk about?" Blu asked, sitting down as well.

"Like...I mean, we have to think about how to take care of our Carlos. We need to figure out how we're going to live our lives with such a responsibility. I mean...I haven't been able to talk to a mother in years. We really need to get our acts together and learn how to be parents." Jewel explained. Blu sighed and thoughtfully glanced outside. Jewel was indeed right. Blu had no idea how to raise a child. It was completely new to him. Heck, he never even knew his own parents... There was so much he needed to know in so little time. There were a thousand ways he could mess up, and every one of them would be such a disaster. His feathers were practically falling out from worry. Carlos was already expected to be hatching in a month or so. At least, that's what Tulio said. Blu and Jewel could feel it as well, their egg was indeed preparing to hatch soon.

"Jewel...honey...I know we'll figure it out. I'm not going to let the greatest thing to happen to us destroy our family. If I can learn to fly with your help, we can figure out how to raise a kid _together_ for sure." Blu said confidently, as if he was addressing an entire nation. History Channel viewings always seemed to pay off at some point for Blu, in this case it was various speeches that seemed pretentious and useless at the time, but helped him sound sure now.

"Thanks Blu..." Jewel sighed happily, resting her head on Blu, who did the same to his mate. It seemed as if this was the real start to a life Blu didn't have about a year ago...

...

Meanwhile, in the deeper parts of the forest, a certain, familiar cockatoo was trudging along on a small path leading to the center of the forest.

"They took away my pride..."

The bird noticed a small sparrow a few feet in front of him, happily chirping away.

"They took away my feathers..."

The sparrow suddenly looked up at the huge bird in front of him, and his eyes widened to the size of golf balls. The sparrow started to zoom off, when a huge talon slashed out and stabbed his tail to the ground, clearly injuring the poor sparrow that happened to get in the path of this bird.

"But no one...can keep Nigel down..."

The psychotic cockatoo finally looked down at the sparrow, who was only hoping the awful cockatoo behind him would let him go. Nigel looked down at him menacingly, and then smiled villainously.

"Don't be scared, pretty bird...This will only hurt a lot."

...

A/N: And THAT is my jumping off point!

Once again, I want to thank you for the support I received in 'The Big Scoop'. It really is cool to be able to make a sequel. This time around, I really want the story to have a mood of not knowing what to expect next. Of course, I've already revealed that the hated cockatoo has returned, but alot of this now will rely on the story of Blu and Jewel's little chick, while Arthur and everyone else will play a less-important, but still a HUGE part. Also, Nigel's sub-plot is going to be VERY interesting. To give you a hint at what I'm meaning, let's just say you're going to be getting a bird-version of Marlon Brando and a few other good men real soon...I also intend to make this story focus on the emotional sides of characters. After a few conversations with a fellow 'Rio' fan-fiction writer, I've come to see that I'm...**REALLY **not good at showing emotion of characters, haha. I really want to make the general focus to be the emotion these characters feel in these situations they've been tossed. How they deal with the cards they're dealt. It's honestly somethin that has to be done, because sequels NEED to focus on characters' emotions of their current situation. If without that, the sequel is practically pointless. I honestly want to make this a great sequel, because if it's bad...Well, I'll say that I will just feel like I let myself...And you guys down. So, look for this to be improving on The Big Scoop! Get ready for a **SUCCESSFUL SEQUEL!**

I'd also like to thank "The Choas Legionnare", a fellow fan-fiction writer AND Rio fan (I absolutely suggest you to check out his fic "Short Explorations of Character", which is probably a few knots below this fic in the Rio section right here. It's a VERY well-written fic, and I'm glad to have a writer of his calibur on board with this fic. I thank him for his help pre-reading and editing this chapter, and making me realize what this story truly has to do to be a great one! Look for his influence on this fic as the fic goes on. It certaintly helped this chapter, at least!

...but anyways, as always

**READ, ENJOY, REVIEW!**


	2. Tik Tok Knot

SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER! I've been swamped lately, and I was BARELY able to squeeze this upload in. Enjoy this chapter, and...Well, I'm just going to say there's some REALLY awesome stuff going on behind the scenes for this fic...

Chapter 2

Tik Tok Knot

Arthur suddenly fell from about 10 feet and slammed into an umbrella below on the beach of Copacabana, suddenly sliding off the side of the umbrella and falling into the soft sand below. Arthur opened his eyes to regain his composure, when he suddenly spotted his friend Bobby, who was busy nibbling on a bag of deserted popcorn.

"Hey Bobby boy! Nice to see you!" Arthur exclaimed hazily as he slowly got to his feet and walked over. Bobby smiled, the chewed up bits of the popcorn swirling around in his mouth as he did so.

"Hey Artie...You gotta try some of 'ris roprorn...Really rood!" Bobby said with a slurred tone from the popcorn that was currently taking up any space left in his mouth.

"No thanks Bobby boy. Wally is performing at the bird club down the beach!" Arthur answered as he walked past and started off down to the other end of the beach.

"Club? I wanna come!" Bobby exclaimed, quickly flying off after Arthur. Arthur quickly eyed the surrounding beach-goers. The umbrellas didn't exactly help, but he could still see a ton. The people enjoying the simple lives they lived everyday. Arthur was still fascinated by the people that just sat on the beach and tanned all day, or people who spent hours just reading a book under an umbrella. You came for the beach, Arthur thought angrily. Rio isn't going to be in front of you forever, Arthur thought to himself with a disgusted look on his face, but his mood lightened when Rafael slowly swooped down next to him.

"Hey bro! Sorry about that crash landing. You're heavier than you think are, man!" Rafael explained as he walked alongside the Spix. Arthur could spot the club right from their current progress point, but Arthur figured he should take the time to talk.

"No worries, _amigo_. Been through worse." Arthur laughed, glancing at his wing with a smile. A fall from 10 feet seemed like a pinch to him after the damage Krieg had done to him.

"So, how's having a kid coming along?" Rafael asked, to which he was given a look of sadness from Arthur.

"Oh..." Rafael responded flatly, realizing the sudden sensitivity of the situation. Arthur smiled softly, trying to mask his sadness.

"Eh...Petricious and I...Well, it turns out we can't interbreed. It's a law of nature I suppose. Still, I'm happy to be able to live with my love. I'm glad to be loved by your little rascals, anyway." Arthur smiled, referring to Rafael and Eva's eighteen children, who were a handful enough for all of Rafael's friends, not just himself and Eva. Rafael laughed in respond and patted Arthur on the back softly.

"I guess that's true. Still, I sorta feel bad. I mean, you would make a great father. You've just got that spirit for it, you know?" Rafael stated. Arthur suddenly sounded like he was ready to start crying. Arthur knew he could be a father...But nature seemed to have treated him badly. After all, he'd been seperated from his parents before he could even walk, had been cooped up with an old journalist, almost killed and...So on, it didn't seem life was giving Arthur the right cards. All this stress...the suffering...Arthur was surprised at the small amount of grey he'd taken on in his feathers. Even with the beautiful Petricious in his life...Nothing seemed to be fitting. It was like one of those strange jigsaw puzzles Arthur had always seen at those toy stores, only that one piece wouldn't fit in to complete his puzzle...Arthur couldn't bear to unleash such horrible thoughts to the guys. After all, this was a new oppurtunity...But it didn't pay off hiding the stress. Still, Arthur tried bending his dis-heartened face to a smile.

"Thanks man...Just wish I could feel the same way." Arthur sighed, looking down at the sand with sadness in his eyes, when he suddenly could hear the distinct sound of Club Air, the newest bird club in Copacabana. Arthur's emotions suddenly turned around, turning to happiness. Arthur started to run faster and bolted inside the huge tent that covered the club. Inside the club, it really didn't look too far off from The Branch. The decor was much more payed to, however, and was colorful and vibrant on the walls.

Rafael and Bobby both laughed as they watched the Spix macaw bolt inside.

"That boy runs off like a monkey on hot coals when he hears music!" Rafael exclaimed with a smile as he flew after Arthur, as well as Bobby.

...

Meanwhile, Blu was quietly sitting in the trees, simply watching the proud families of birds zooming by. Blu would give small smiles to the parents, to which they'd respond back with the same. Everyone had pretty much known about the three Spix macaws by now...But it didn't matter. Blu still didn't know how he'd back up his assurence to Jewel. Blu's mind was swirling with questions of what to do when Carlos come to them. Sure, Blu had found parenting books and such at Linda's bookstore that had been founded only a couple months back in Rio, but none of them detailed anything close to bird parenting. Blu almost felt bad that he had made an almost empty gurantee to Jewel. After all, he loved her so much...All he wanted was the best for her. Then again, he didn't want to forget about himself. A kid meant more protection, more hours up...And more danger. The slight possibilities of injury were now magnified a thousand times because of their little chick. Added, this WAS their species on the line. One false move and the Spix would be wiped out...And Blu couldn't even IMAGINE that heavy of a load of guilt on his wings. If he thought he had problems now...There'd be more if that happened.

Blu continued to stare off, worried at all of what was to come. A flap of feathers suddenly sounded close, and next to Blu landed his beloved, Jewel.

"Look...I'm scared too. I know as much about parenting as you do...But we'll get through this, together. We're 'chained-together' birds, remember?" Jewel said with a soft smile, lifting Blu from his sad feelings and giving him those same feelings as he stared down the ocean from an airplane, at the time a flightless bird, risking his life to save the bird he loved. Blu looked at Jewel with a small smile, feeling better than he had about the whole situation.

"I know Jewel...And if anything happens, I'm glad to know that we'll be together at every step." Blu replied with his smile growing. Jewel quickly pecked Blu with a kiss on his cheek, and then flew off back to their nest. Blu looked back at the sun, which was now beginning to set and faced it now with a new expression. If Jewel was always with him, maybe this new obstacle of life wouldn't be an obstacle, but a new oppurtunity for love and a life that both of them could fill with that love they never were able to receive.

...

Rafael and Bobby both paced inside Club Air, immeadiatley spotting Nico and Pedro who quickly sped over once they spotted the two.

"Raf! Bob-O! Great to see y'all!" Pedro exclaimed as he flew closer over to them.

"Hey guys! You seen Wally and Artie anywhere?" Bobby asked as he squinted around to try and spot his friends.

"Heck yeah. We were ganna perform with 'em in a couple minutes!" Nico answered quickly. As if on que, Rafael spotted Wally near the front stage, who waved at the multi-colored Toucan.

"I found Wally!" Rafael answered as he flew up and over near the main stage.

"So, what are we singin'? Last time we did this, Wally was obsessed with Barry." Bobby asked. Both Nico and Pedro shared smiles and shrugged.

"Not allowed to tell ya." Pedro smiled, trying to be cryptic about their song choice. Bobby noticed Wally and Rafael waving for them to come over, and Bobby immeadiatley flew over to the group, with Nico and Pedro close behind.

"Hey Bobby! You ready for the musical genius?" Wally said with a clever smile. Bobby responded with a puzzled look, while Pedro flew over and whisperd to Wally, who replied with a laugh.

"Eh, you'll follow along real well." Wally laughed as he walked off, apparently to the front stage. Arthur suddenly appeared and smiled as Bobby noticed him.

"So, we all ready my friends?" Arthur asked with a smile.

"You kiddin'? I've been ready for hours! C'mon!" Nico exclaimed. Arthur shrugged to Bobby with a smile and walked over where Wally was standing on the front stage of the club, who was busy giving some rambling speech. Nico and Pedro quickly set up, ready to start playing, followed by a still-confused Bobby, who just sat in a frazzled mood.

...

Meanwhile, below the main stage, a small group of birds were sitting on a round table, all of them looking dignified.

"So, do you think the associate(*) has gotten the job done yet?" A small, orange European robin said with a bubbly voice that almost described his seemingly-bloated figure. Next to him was a red and black partridge, who looked at the robin with a confused look.

"Please, that macaw we were after was a complete babbo(*). No way he could dodge 'em..." The partridge said with disgust in his voice as he smacked the robin on the back of the head.

"Just sit back and relax men...I heard this guy was worth checking out. Remember that I did this so those birds wouldn't be going after us...You don't want to be whacked(*), do yas?" A tall, night-black crow said deeply, eying the seagull blabbering on-stage.

"Boss is right, you cafones(*)." A small owl next to the crow growled.

"Just enjoy the show..."

...

"-so anyway, I have a real tight schedule, so lets get this show on the road!" Wally exclaimed, spinning around wildly and then stopping dead in his tracks in front of Arthur, who stared nervously, realizing he was supposed to start singing...Only he forgot the lyrics...So he decided to improvise.

_I wake up in the morning with all of the city!_

_I grab my hat, grab my spirirt, ganna get nitty gritty!_

_Before I leave I grab my friends, man that is a fact_

_'cause when I leave with my boys, I ain't comin' back!_

Wally shrugged his wings with a smile, and then motioned to Nico and Pedro to start up the beats. Wally and Arthur then both started singing once again.

_We're talking partyin' all day, and partyin' all night!_

_All the little birdies, they run in fright,_

_'Cause they know when we're there, we're ganna be there all night!_

_Time to pop, rip and bop!_

_Pedro, blow those drums up!_

_Tonight, city lights!_

_Ganna rock all night, 'till we see the sunlight!_

_On top, rock the clock!_

_All night, ganna rock!_

_Come mornin', we don't stop!_

_Woah woah woah woah, hey!_

_Woah woah woah woah, hey!_

Arthur stopped Wally and then jumped in the front of view, taking the rest of the song in stride.

_Rio's now my home, never ganna be alone!_

_Ganna party all day, ganna party all night!_

_Rip it up, knock it down!_

_Party like a love-hawk, livin' life off the ground!_

_Playing the game, livin' life,_

_'till I see the sunlight!_

Wally then bumped his way past Arthur and then picked up the song.

_Time to wrap, get it done!_

_Ganna rock and have some fun!_

_Rio de Jan-eiro, ganna fly like a U-F-O!_

_Rock it high, rock it low,_

_Life is going in fast-mo!_

Wally finally stopped with a flourish and a bow, and was awarded with a loud wave of cheers from the huge crowd of birds.

"Woo! Awesome job man! You know how to throw down!" Pedro exclaimed from behind Wally, who turned around and smiled triumphantly.

...

While the white seagull with the nice singing voice was busy basking in his glory, the group of stuffy birds watched intently, enjoying the entertainment that he had provided.

"Man, we should get that guy on board. He'd be a button(*) in no time." The robin said with a smile. The tall crow contemplated the thought for a moment and then frowned.

"No. We don't need showboys going around with glitz and tinsel in our association." The crow replied as got up and flew off. The rest of the group looked at each other with confused looks and then followed the crow.

"Wait up, Vito!" The owl called out as he flew after his boss.

...

Meanwhile, the sun had already set back in the jungle when Blu finally landed back inside the small hollow he and Jewel called home. Blu still had to note that this wasn't much of a cozy home when compared to the bookstore in Moose Lake. In fact, Blu sometimes remembered home...It was hard to forget it, and at times he couldn't. After all, him and Linda had completely forgot about old 'Tiny-sota'. Blu certaintly loved his new home, but perhaps that old feeling of homesickness was seeping into him again. Blu had certaintly gotten used to it, however, and made his way over to their egg. In all of his deep thinking, Blu suddenly noticed that Jewel wasn't in the hollow, guarding the egg as she usually did.

"Jewel? Honey?" Blu called, trying to find his mate.

"Jewel?" Blu yelled again, his voice starting to sound desperate in tone. He'd never actually..."Taken care" of the egg before. Blu had always known it involved constantly warming the egg with his own body heat...But he'd never actually done it before.

"Well, I see someone's busy." A voice said from behind Blu, which made him practically jump out his feathers. Blu spun around quickly to see it was Jewel, who was close to laughing at his display just now.

"Well...Y...Yeah. I figured that with you not being here that I should take care of Carlos...After all, we agreed that we'd raise him _together_, right?" Blu asked, adding emphasis and a smile onto 'together'.

"Blu, I don't think you ever realize how cute you are." Jewel said with a smile. Blu laughed half-heartidly, feeling complimented and somewhat embarassed at the same time.

"Well, I can't say I _try _to be endearing...But as long as your happy." Blu said with a laugh as he lied down next to the egg once again. Blu looked at the small egg next to him, picturing in his mind the small little bird they were about to bring into this world. All of the joy and wonder and curiousity he'd bring with him...It made all of the stress seem worthwhile as Carlos neared his time to enter the world...In fact, something strange was going on with the egg right now. Blu suddenly noticed a small cracking noise, as if the shell of the egg was starting to break open. Blu jumped back quickly to a shocked-looking Jewel, but it wasn't a scared-shock, but a happy shocked. Millions of thoughts were crossing Blu's mind at the moment, so much that he couldn't even hear Jewel asking a millio questions. All of the sudden, a small, square-shaped shard of the egg slid down from the top of the egg and landed softly to the floor below the egg. The egg suddenly stopped moving, giving enough breathing room for the two parents to see a small, black tip of a beak poking out of the top of the egg.

"Can you believe this Blu? I guess we're getting Carlos earlier than anyone thought!" Jewel exclaimed as she quickly flew over to examine the now protruding beak of Carlos. Blu could barely speak with all the excitement of Carlos actually moving at all. Blu walked over and crouched down next to Jewel with a smile.

"Jewel...Did I ever tell you that I love you? I mean...Ever?" Blu asked with a stutter. Jewel turned to Blu with a surprised look on her face. Blu suddenly felt out of place. Blu couldn't exactly remember the last time he ever told Jewel this, if at all.

"Blu...Of course you have!" Jewel responded with a puzzled smile and a laugh. Blu fired back a confused look.

"I have?"

"Blu, you're 'beautiful eyes' have always been enough to tell me. The way you look at me...How couldn't I tell that?" Jewel said sweetly as Blu suddenly noticed she was getting closer to him. Blu sighed with a small smile and then glanced over at the beak stabbing out of the small egg.

"I just wish Carlos was able to hear us right now..." Blu said with a smile as he glanced over at the egg.

"...I wish he could hear me say...I love you..." Blu said with a bubbly tone of voice. Blu then leaned in and kissed Jewel, almost making a fool of himself and missing, but instead made contact squarely. Jewel was obviously surprised at the sudden display and affection had completely caught her off guard.

"Well, I guess we at least know ONE thing about Carlos..." Jewel said after she hesitated for a few seconds.

"At least he'll know that we love him, and that we all love each other...And that we're a family."

Blu could almost feel himself crying at this whole thing. Jewel _was_ right, Blu said to himself silently. The one thing that the two mates could say when their chick was born was that they knew they all loved each other dearly, and nothing would change that. All these feelings flying around were starting to make Blu's heart beat blow past what he believed was the normal rate, and all of the sudden he could almost hear the same song Nico sang on Jewel and his first..."Date", per say.

_Wasn't really thinking, wasn't looking, wasn't searching for an answer._

_In the moooonlight...When I saw your face..._

...

Meanwhile in the streets of Rio, a loud comotion was echoing from the rooftops. Of course, it was the nouse of Arthur, Wally, Nico and Pedro heading back towards the forest. Rafael had already left before they left Club Air, as well as Bobby.

"Man! That was awesome job, Wally!" Pedro exclaimed as he flew alongside Arthur and Wally, who were both walking along the rooftops, occasionally having to hop over a body of space seperating the roofs. Wally often felt bad that he was almost showing off when flying in front of Arthur, so he usually elected to walk alongside his Spix buddy.

"Got that right! That was the most I've had in ages!" Wally exclaimed as he almost floated off the ground in his joy. The seagull then glanced at Arthur, who had an expression that almost looked like he just came from a funeral and not an awesome time at a club. Wally was ready to point this out, when Nico ended up speaking first.

"Hey Artie, what's up with you? You haven't said a single thing since we left." Nico asked with a concerned tone. Arthur raised his head up and then sighed.

"Well...It's about Petricious..." Arthur started, unsure of how to explain his current state of mind. Both Pedro and Nico both glanced at each other nervously, realizing that the coversation was about to become touchy with the tone of voice Arthur was speaking with. However, Wally knew his friend well enough to talk with him in an easy tone.

"Man, don't worry about that! Couples fight all the time." Wally cooed, trying to lighten his friend up a bit. Arthur laughed slightly, appreciating his buddy's advice but feeling bad that he didn't know the _true_ reason of why Petricious was the problem.

"I appreciate your advice, Wally buddy...But that's not exactly my problem." Arthur laughed softly, his eyes glancing around nervously.

"Ya see...Petricious is a dearie and all...But it's recently become lonely to be one of only three Spix macaws. I mean...I CAN'T HAVE KIDS! THAT'S MY PROBLEM!" Arthur suddenly screeched, causing the three birds next to him to jump back in shock. None of them had seen Arthur lash out like this before. It certaintly wasn't like him at all...

"Dude! Amigo! Calm down!" Pedro exclaimed rapidly to the steaming Spix, who was still breathing heavily, his chest puffing in and out as if he'd just had all the air sucked out of him like a helium balloon.

"See, this is why I'll never be in a relationship!" Pedro said in a show-off sort of way to Nico, pointing to the hyper-ventilating Arthur. Nico, however, was stuck on Arthur and quickly flew over and attempted to calm Artie down.

"Dude, just take it easy! Look, do you love her at least?" Nico asked, trying to shift the conversation to knock sense into Arthur. Arthur glanced at Nico with a small smile and then sighed once more.

"Yes, I do indeed love her...I guess seeing Blu and Jewel about to have a kid is bugging me..." Arthur shrugged, trying to rid the feeling of lonliness from his mind. While he wasn't showing it, Arthur truly felt more than what he let on. Of course he loved Petricious...It was just the fact that he had no Spix to be his mate. While Blu was happily together with Jewel and was already having one chick, Arthur would forever be stuck by himself, with a parakeet that he loved dearly, but could only call her little more than a friend with the fact of science's laws in place. Arthur had to live with a fact that he was going to live a life without kids or a true mate to ever call for...

"I just wish...I just wish there was another Spix out there...One that I could truly love. Petricious is beautiful, and I could never think of losing her, but I just wish I could feel that same joy that Blu is feeling..."

The three birds all stood silent, not knowing how to respond properly. All were aware that Arthur and Petricious both loved each other dearly. None of them were aware of Arthur's true feelings about the subject, however. Pedro finally broke the silence and patted Arthur on the back lovingly.

"Man, anytime you down, just talk to us! Me and Nico understand!" Pedro exclaimed cooly, glancing over to Nico who shrugged and then slapped a smile on to seem like he agreed. Unknown to both Pedro and Arthur, a figure had flown behind them. Nico and Wally were about to point out the person behind them, but instead watched to see what would happen if Pedro kept his mouth running.

"Why'd ya even hook up with her in the first place?" Pedro asked, to which Arthur began to speak, when a voice from behind suddenly made could've made Arthur's feathers turn white if it were possible.

"That's a fair question. Keep talking, 'hot wing'."

Pedro turned around slowly, and then froze when he saw the figure standing behind him. Arthur slowly turned around, and came face to face with his love, Petricious. However, her usual cheerful expression was a stone-cold glare. Arthur figured this was directed at Pedro, but it seemed clear it was to BOTH of them.

"Artie...I think it's time we go home." Petricious said, trying to keep herself under control. Pedro backed away slowly and stood behind Nico and Wally with a fearful expression.

"Petricious...Darling..." Arthur began shakely. Arthur loved his parakeet lover dearly...But Arthur sure was scared of her when she was mad. Petricious rolled her eyes and then frowned.

"NOW..."

Arthur slowly made his way next to Petricious, and suddenly she flapped her wings and then grabbed Arthur by the wings and flew off with him in tow, a scared expression planted on his face.

"Oh boy...Trouble in paradise, alright." Wally muttered.

...

Meanwhile, inside a small shack a few blocks away, a loud sound of bass playing could be heard, echoing out of a small make-shift shed. Inside of it was the same birds from Club Air. The partridge and the small owl were busy playing darts in a dark corner of a room lit by a small lightbulb. On the other end of the place, the crow by the name of 'Vito' was looking out the small porthole window that was placed perfectly enough to be able to see the whole lit-up city from it. All of the sudden, the small orange robin walked up from behind Vito with a concerned look.

"Hey Vito...Why didn't you recruit that seagull? He coulda really been a button in our association, sir." The robin muttered, trying not to sound demanding of his higher-up. Vito's eyes narrowed angrily, and he quickly spun around, suddenly frightening the small robin.

"Tom, no! Don't you remember the last time we accepted a lower-class bird?" Vito yelled, the bass music coming from the radio suddenly stopping and all the birds in the place staring at the two. Vito glared at Tom and then walked closer to him, suddenly showing his towering status over the small robin.

"Yeah..."

"Yeah! That little, cutesy cardinal girl! Remember what happened?" Vito screamed, his voice about to become hoarse with rage. The small owl was starting to make his way over to Vito, but he stopped in fear of being socked in the head by the enraged crow.

"That little cardinal girl worked for us all that time. She became family, and then became a softie! I didn't wanna kick her out...She was all by herself. She couldn't possibly live out there, but Sonny didn't think that way! Now I'm hearing she's flying around in the Amazon now or somethin'...I have to live up to his legacy, and if I let in another mistake like that girl, then I'm going to let him down...So, give me ONE GOOD REASON why I should let another bird like that cardinal into our association!" Vito yelled, picking up Tom and ready to choke him to death, when the door to the shack swung open, and a huge figure walked into the shack. Vito's eyebrow arched in confusion and he then promptly dropped Tom.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in LA being a stuffy, over-payed loser?" Vito asked, walking closer to the shadowy figure. The figure walked into the lightbul nearby, and he was revealed to be the huge cockatoo by the name of Nigel. Everyone except Vito gasped at the sight of the evil cockatoo, who simply stared at everyone with a cold glare.

"Shut up you night-loving mobster. I've come to offer you a deal." Nigel fired back, making Vito stop in his tracks. The crow then formed a small, clever smile.

"What'd you come here for, then? 'To give me an offer I can't refuse'?" Vito said in a tone that was supposed to be mimicking Marlon Brando. Nigel stepped forward, attempting to use his intimidating skills to scare the crow, but the upper-classed crow didn't budge. Not even a change of expression.

"Mauro and those idiotic monkeys are apparently off in the Amazon, so I need you and your 'associates' to find two little pretty birds..." Nigel said menacingly, popping his talons out in an attempt to put fear into the mind of the owl next to him, but instead the owl gave back a cold frown.

"Pretty birds, eh? Fill me in. Spill the beans, feathery freak." Vito smiled, obviously trying to irritate Nigel...And it was working.

"There are two blue Macaws here in Rio. Little less than a year ago I ran into them and...Long story short, I was fired out of a plane and into a propeller. I need you to go after them." Nigel croaked out, his voice growing with hatred, remembering the horrible shame he was put through, having to walk around with no feathers for months, listening and watching the stupid, happy little birds flutter around like pixies.

Vito looked at Nigel unassuringly, not too sure whether he wanted to agree with this bird-murdering weirdo. Vito liked to believe they were a tough crowd, but he wasn't rough enough to consider killing things. Heck, that was the main reason why he let that cardinal girl go. They weren't going to KILL a bird that became part of the family...But this guy looked like he meant business.

"...What's in it for us?" Vito asked, walking close enough to Nigel that he wasn't too far from tasting him. Nigel snickered lowly, knowing from the deep part of his brain that he'd end of having to bargain with this bird mafia he'd heard so much about. Of course, that was back when that other bird was with them.

"How's about this? If you help me capture these macaws...I won't hesitate to kill the rest of you..." Nigel said menacingly, suddenly tossing out a small body of a bird. The whole mafia suddenly became fixed to the body. As it turns out, Nigel somehow was able to get the mafia's "associate", a small finch, and had seemingly killed him, judgin by the huge gash in his side. Vito looked up at Nigel with newfound hatred...but if he wanted to do one thing, it was to keep his family of birds safe.

"Alrighty then...You've twisted my wing. We'll find these macaws." Vito muttered, walking over to the tubby, orange robin who was currently crying at the sight of their dead friend and then slapped him on the head.

"You can act like a man, Johnny!" Vito growled, pulling the small robin away angrily to stop his crying. Vito then turned back to Nigel with a stone expression, obviously trying not to show his emotion over the member they just mercifully lost to a nobody cockatoo.

"What exactly do you want us to do with them?" The owl asked, his tone much changed than before. Nigel glanced at the owl with a menacing smile, the shadowy effect the lightbulb had just making him even more terrifying.

"Just bring them here...I'll 'take care' of them once you have them captured..."

...

A/N: There ya go! FINALLY got this chapter out!

The song I used is a parody of "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha...The reason why I didn't use the original song was because I absolutely hate Ke$ha. So, like Artie did, I decided to improvise. xD

So, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I'll update as soon as I can, and of course...

**READ, ENJOY, REVIEW!**

Also, mob term explanations:

associate: an almost-there of a mob family

babbo: an idiot, a dope

cafone: a phony of embarassment

whacked: killed


	3. Wrecking Wings

Back again! Basically, this story is going to be a VERY fast-paced story. This is because of...Well, I'll leave that reason as "unforseen circumstances". You'll find out what those are soon enough...Anyways, this chapter will likely start up the climax of the story, followed by next chapter which will likely include the falling action...Overall, this story will be MUCH faster to end than The Big Scoop...You'll consider it a gift later on...

...

Chapter 3

Wrecking Wings

While the gang of birds and Nigel were busy coming up with a master plan, Arthur was currently being chewed out by Petricious at their nest.

"I mean, I can't believe you don't think I'm enough for you! You said you loved me! Do you think of this as entertainment?" Petricious whined, pacing back and forth in front of the now-guilty looking Arthur.

"Petricious, deary...You know I love you." Arthur said weakly, trying to calm down his love hawk. This was getting bad, and fast. Petricious glared at Arthur at this statement. By the tone of his voice, Petricious could tell he was just trying to calm her down.

"Honey, I don't know if I can believe that anymore! What, do you think another Spix macaw will fall out of the sky?" Petricious exclaimed angrily, her eyes growing bigger at every word, her anger pouring out like water from Niagra Falls.

"Look, I wanted a child! Jewel and Blu look so happy together! I want to have kids, but right not we're living against Mother nature's wishes!" Arthur shouted, his voice suddenly gaining an angry quality to it. Petricious backed away in shock, signaling to Arthur he just blasted his own love. Arthur looked at his wings in horror, not understanding why he was turning into a monster. Arthur then sighed and then glanced at Petricious with sadness flooding his eyes.

"Honey...You know I love you. I simply want the happiness that so money of those birds experience...I want to pass on our love to kids. I want us...To share our love, just like Jewel and Blu are about to do."

Petricious hesitated a moment, and then smiled sweetly and embraced Arthur lovingly.

"Then why don't we do Jewel and Blu a favor...And maybe 'Uncle Artie' can be the love-spreader, hmm?" Petricious said with a seductive tone. Arthur smiled, knowing that his parakeet love was correct.

"You're lucky you're such a wonderful little birdie..." Arthur whispered back. Both of the lovers stayed silent for a few moments, when Arthur started to feel something coming up from his heart. Then, it all poured out from there. A song he remembered that seemed to always play on that radio Andrew owned.

_Sooo long...I've been lookin' too hard._

_I've been waitin' too long._

_Sometimes I don't know what I will find._

_I only know it'll be a matter of time._

_It feels so right, so wrong, so true._

_I need to know if you feel it too._

_This heart of mine has been hurt before,_

_this time I wanna be sure..._

...

The very next morning, Wally was rapidly flying toward the jungle, dodging a million passing birds, all in the middle of stretching their wings for the day.

"Sorry! Comin' through! Watch out!"

Wally finally landed...Well, _crashed _into the base of the tree that Blu and Jewel lived in. Wally frantically jumped up and then climbed quickly to the hollow and quickly spotted the huge, 8 ball-like egg that sat next to a sleeping Blu and Jewel. Wally quickly thought for a moment, and then cawed loudly as his kind would do when they found a food-jackpot.

"Blu! Jewel! Wake up!" Wally shouted, the annoyed groan of Jewel his response.

"Can those three go at least one day without waking me up at six in the morning?" Jewel asked to herself as she slowly lifted her head up. Jewel was never actually fond of Arthur, even after he saved Blu from the hands of Krieg. He, along with his friends, were still extremely annoying. Blu opened his eyes slowly and glanced at his mate with a confused expression.

"I'm wondering the same thing..." Blu muttered to himself as he slowly got up with Jewel and quickly checked Carlos, who was in the same state as last night. _Obviously, _Blu thought to himself, _like the egg is going anywhere with me and Jewel guarding it._

Wally suddenly ran over to Blu and grabbed him. Blu could tell something exciting was apparently going on, as Wally beared a wide-eyed look today. The seagull also had a wide grin plugged on, something he'd only show if he was busy partying or just having a great time.

"Blu, you gotta...Is that Carlos' beak pokin' out there?" Wally said, hesitating when he spotted the egg next to him. Blu suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment and smiled.

"Well, yes. You missed it last night, Carlos broke through a bit." Blu answered with a proud tone. Wally slowly inspected the egg and and his smile suddenly grew wider.

"Well congrats guys! You're ganna have an awesome kid!" Wally exclaimed, slowly walking around the egg, inspecting every inch of the huge, white ball containing a dear, new Spix macaw.

"Yeah, and we _were _going to have a nice morning with sleep..." Jewel muttered to herself, low enough that Wally couldn't hear, and instead went back to being excited.

"Guys, you won't believe it! Arthur's ganna fly again!"

"WHAT?" Both Blu and Jewel asked, both shocked at this revealation. Both the macaws were aware that Arthur was presumably permanently crippled from flying thanks to Krieg.

"That's what I said! Turns out there's some kind of muscle surgery they're performing on him today!" Wally exclaimed, motioning to the macaws to follow him. Blu glanced over at Jewel, who looked at the excited seagull with a uncertain look.

"You go ahead and see what all the commotions about. I could care less if that guy flies..." Jewel responded. Wally now donned an annoyed expression.

"You STILL mad about what happened a The Branch last time?" Wally asked, referring to the night when Wally and Bobby unleashed their "master plan" and ended up getting Arthur into more trouble, and setting him up for the worst night of beatings of his life.

"Quite frankly I am, Wally the red-nosed dodo." Jewel fired back angrily, suddenly hurting Wally emotionally. Wally frowned, and then slowly walked to the hole to the hollow.

"Just humor the guy a bit, okay? He cared enough to save Blu, after all." Wally muttered without any anger or any tone in his voice as he floated out with a flap of his wings. As soon as he left, Blu walked over to Jewel with a concerned expression.

"Jewel, are you okay?" Blu asked with a tone matching his expression. Jewel scoffed and then turned around.

"I'm fine Blu..." Jewel muttered, focusing now on the egg. Blu was about to speak again, but Jewel promptly spoke again.

"Go ahead and see Arthur...I'll stay here..._Alone..._"

Blu walked over slowly a poked his head over Jewel's shoulder. Blu had never seen Jewel like this before.

"Jewel...I'm not going." Blu answered, this response actually surprising Jewel.

"I'd rather stay here. After all, Carlos is probably going to be coming soon...And I wouldn't miss it for the world." Blu continued, lighlty kissing Jewel, who smiled warmly at this statement.

"Thanks honey..." Jewel mumbled. Blu smiled back, knowing himself that somehow, some way, he was finally learning what the true meaning of 'family' was in the spiritual sense.

...

Meanwhile, Arthur was busy prancin happily on the floor of the jungle near the Blu Bird Sanctuary. With him were Bobby, Pedro and Nico as well, watching him dance proudly around.

"I'm ganna fly again buds! I'm ganna fly like a bird!" Arthur screamed out as he ran in circles like a mad-bird, his friends watching him contently.

"But Artie, you are a bird, man!" Pedro called out to the dancing Spix macaw. Wally then landed down from above as Pedro exclaimed out to Arthur.

"Hey Wally, where's Jewel and Blu?" Nico asked, noticing the absense of the two Spix macaws they were always accustomed to seeing. Wally sported a disgusted look at the mention of Jewel, but then smiled anyways.

"Eh, they want some alone time. They're egg is about to hatch, anyways! The little guy is breakin' through already!" Wally exclaimed, suddenly sparking the interest of everyone.

"That's great! Did they say when he's going to hatch completely?" Arthur exclaimed as he rushed over to hear in.

"Nope, but I could see his beak was poking through there...In that case, he'll probably be out in a day or so!" Wally exclaimed, starting to explain what he had seen before. Arthur carefully listened with an excited expression. While Arthur was sad about the fact he would never have such a thing, Arthur was always happy to hear good news for the mates. Besides, this meant Arthur would be an uncle, the only thing he could really say was an accomplishment in his long life.

"Hey Artie, you mind if we go see the little guy?" Pedro asked. Arthur pondered for only a second and then laughed.

"Of course my friends! I'll be fine. The men in white know what they're doing." Arthur laughed. Arthur then faced towards the sanctuary building and then headed towards one of the window. It was almost surgery time, and Arthur didn't want to delay the chance to fly again...A chance to finally be able to fly with his love again.

...

"Jimmy C paging. Vito, you read me?"

"Vito?"

"VITO, YOU DEAF DOOF!"

"What?"

The bird mafia was currently paging each other over extremely old walkie-talkies. Jimmy, the partridge that was well-respected through the family, was currently burrowing himself into an arguement with Vito.

"You need to pay attention, ya piece of crap!" Jimmy exclaimed angrily, his nerves boiling from the tension that was building. Beside him was Jonny, who was currently spying on a small hollow where the two could see two blue macaws inside with a huge egg.

"Well sorry if I can't sleep! Ya think I'm happy that Henry got blown away by the freakin' cockatoo? I'm beat outta my freakin' mind!" Vito yelled back, his deep Italian accent bursting at the seams in steaming rage.

"Well sorry Sleeping Beauty, but unfortunetly we're trying to pull off the job that YOU assigned us to! Now get off your lazy, feathery ass and do somethin'!" Jimmy screamed, practically waking up every bird from their nap in a mile radius. Jonny then interupted the arguement with a loud shoosh.

"Quiet!...The macaws are catchin' on..." Jonny said as he lowered his voice, trying not to make the macaws in the tree realize they were spying on them.

"Alright...Just tell me if you've found the two blue macaws." Vito muttered from the other end. Jimmy poked his head from out of his hiding spot and focused on the two blue macaws inside the hollow.

"Yeah, we found 'em. Want to carry out the operation now?" Jimmy asked as he attentively watched the hollow. Dark clouds were suddenly rolling over the jungle, making Jonny think this plan may not work the way they wanted it to. All of the sudden, a group of birds suddenly flocked into the hollow, these birds being a cardinal, a canary, a seagull and a pigeon.

"Dang man! The targets have got company!" Henry whispered, to which Jimmy then growled angrily under his breath.

"Damnit. Vito, the target birds are having some party..." Jimmy muttered. Jimmy could distinctly hear Vito swearing in the background. Apparently he forgot that the walkie-talkie was still on.

"Vito, I can still hear ya."

"Look, wait until it gets dark. We'll have the element of blending in...Those schnooks will never know what hit 'em..."

...

_Where am I?_

_I can't be dead..._

_What's going on?_

_Hello? Someone?_

Arthur's eyes suddenly creaked open, the light from the hanging light fixture practically blinding him.

"Hello?" Arthur said softly, trying to pick himself up. Arthur raised his head and instantly spotted a window in front of him. Arthur tried to get up, but an sharp, stinging pain suddenly hit his wing. Arthur winced at the sting, but suddenly he remembered why he was feeling it in the first place.

"My wing? My wing!" Arthur yelled, realizing his wing was now bandaged and stinging badly, but now felt much different than before. It felt numb, likely from all the painkillers and such. Arthur quickly pulled himself up, his left wing so numb he was practically dragging it across the floor. Still, Arthur charged to the window, and attempted to open it, but suddenly the window zoomed up and open, and Arthur fell on top of whoever had opened it. As luck would have it, Arthur poked his head up to see a heavenly sight of a smiling Petricious. Arthr smiled warmly and then picked himself back up, pain still flowing like the strongest river through his wing.

"Well darling, looks like I'll be in the sky with you soon..." Arthur smiled, bringing himself closer to the parakeet he loved so dearly. Petricious smiled and then pecked Arthur on his forehead with a small kiss. Arthur narrowed his eyes like the 'crazy love hawk' Pedro always talked about and returned the kiss. While this romantic little moment was heating, the heavens began to open up and unleash it's watery fury. Rain started to patter down, to which the two love birds both realized this.

"Let's find a dry spot...Don't think I should crack out the ol'e set with this weather." Arthur said with a laugh as he glanced at his wing with a concerned look. All of the sudden, a loud screech ripped across the forest like a shockwave. Both Arthur and Petricious rapidl turned their heads and jumped at the shrieking.

"That sounds like Jewel!" Arthur suddenly reasoned, running rapidly towards the source of the sound. Petricious quickly flapped her wings and followed shortly after, equally concerned.

...

Only about 10 minutes before, Wally, Bobby, Nico and Pedro all landed inside the hollow Blu and Jewel lived in, suddenly erupting the small hollow into excitement.

"Look at that! The little guy is almost out!" Bobby exclaimed, running over to see the egg. The egg was clearly broken through even more than before, this time a small blue figure could be seen inside by a small crack in the egg.

"Try to stay quiet...You're going to scare the living daylights out of him." Blu said with a scolding tone as he pushed Bobby away. Bobby smirked at Wally, who both exchanged glances that suggested the same opinion. Both knew that now Blu was adopting the 'father-figure' feelings. It certaintly wasn't a bad thing, however.

"Congrats Jewel! You think we'll see the little guy by tommorow?" Nico asked, inspecting the egg from afar.

"Latest would probably be tommorow afternoon. By tommorow, we'll have another little ball of joy in the world." Blu said with happiness flowing in his voice as he checked the egg carefully. A crack of thunder echoed from the outskirts of the jungle, signalling a thunderstorm in the coming minutes.

"Can't wait to see the little guy! Tell us when he comes out, alright? We gotta go see if Artie made it out okay!" Wally exclaimed as he bolted to the hollow and fly out along with Bobby.

"Yeah, we gotta go too! We'll come back with Artie to wait for the little guy!" Pedro exclaimed as he and his canary friend both bolted out.

Outside, the sun was beginning to be engulfed in the dark clouds above. The heavens suddenly began to break open, and out came the pouring rain. Nico was desperately trying to keep up with his buddy Pedro, who was so far away from him that as soon as he took a sharp right turn, he was completely out of sight.

"Pedro? Buddy?" Nico called, the huge rain drops pelting off his bottlecap. Nico landed down on a tree branch to catch his breath and regroup, when he suddenly thought he could see Pedro...But he wasn't flying straight, neccesarily. It seemed like he was struggling with something...Or..._someone._

All of the sudden, a giant shadow came towards Nico and then socked him straight in the head and sent him flying backwards until he slammed into the base of the tree he was standing on. Nico raised his head, his mind in a daze, just in time to see a huge partridge standing before him. The partridge was an absolute beast in stature compared to Nico as he continued to approach him.

"Hey Tweety Bird..." The partridge said menacingly with a deep laugh as he grabbed Nico by the throat with a bony claw and raised him off the branch.

"...What's the matter? Did you saw a Putty Cat?" The partridge laughed, shoving Nico against the tree even harder, about ready to choke him to death.

"What the heck did I ever do to you? I don't even know you, man!" Nico exclaimed, stuttering in-between words. Nico couldn't even begin to understand why this partridge was attacking him in the first place. The last thing Nico would want to do was pick a fight with a bird this big...

"Jimmy, I got the cardinal!" A voice called out from the thundering rain surrounding the canary and the partridge. Nico suddenly realized that this guy was working with another bird, and they had done _something _to his buddy.

"You guys keep your hands off my friend!" Nico exclaimed angrily, trying to break the grip of the partridge apparently named Jimmy, when he suddenly slammed the canary against the base of the tree once again, and this time, Nico's mind went blank...

...

Inside the hollow, both Blu and Jewel were sitting togethr next to their egg that was about ready to give them a loving chick named Carlos.

"Blu...Are we still going to be able to do this one Carlos comes out?" Jewel asked, breaking the sound of the rain spattering against the ground below. Blu looked at Jewel with a confused expression, not sure how to respond.

"What I mean is, are we still going to be able to be together like this?"

Blu stuttered for a moment, unsure of how to respond once again. Blu enjoyed every moment with Jewel...But would it still feel the same with a child to take care of constantly? Blu was about to speak up, when loud shouting suddenly echoed from outside. Blu and Jewel both turned to the hole leading outside and listened in, trying to hear who it was. It almost sounded like Nico...And some other bird.

"Nico?" Blu called out as he got up and walked towards the hole. Blu poked his head outside, immeadiatley being pelted with rain. Blu suddenly spotted a huge bird only a few trees away, clutching what looked like the small, yellow body of Nico...

"Hey!" Blu exclaimed, suddenly catching the attention of the red-eyed partridge. The bird then dropped Nico onto the branch, his body not making a bit of movement. The partridge suddenly hopped off the branch, but suddenly he disappeared. While Blu felt confused at who that partridge was, Blu suddenly realized Nico wasn't moving at all.

"Nico!" Blu exclaimed, quickly jumping from his hollow and quickly flying over...But he was only able to make it halfway...

All of the sudden, a streak of lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating the jungle enough that Blu was able to spot a set of red eyes coming straight toward him, and he was then smashed out of the sky, and was suddenly lying in a pile of mud on the jungle floor, sopping wet and muddy.

"Jimmy you idiot!"

Blu quickly pulled himself out and quickly spotted two birds bolting into his hollow...

"Jewel!" Blu screamed out loud, quickly bolting from the mud and flying as fast as his wings could take him, determined to protect his mate. Blu was about to reach the hollow, when a dark figure suddenly smashed into him and clutched him so hard that he felt like a helium balloon being stuck between two trash compactors. Blu was able to catch a glance of the bird who had just caught him.

"Hello my little blue friend." The bird said, who was a giant crow that was currently staring at Blu with eyes that almost looked like Krieg's, only more menacing. The crow also had a deep Italian accent, almost like a mobster from one of those 'Godfather' movies Blu had seen with Linda a couple times. Before Blu could think any more about these similarities, a loud shriek bellowed out from the hollow of his and Jewel's tree. Blu was able to catch a glance of a small robin carrying an egg, followed by the same big partridge from before, carrying...JEWEL.

"Jewel! You let her go!" Blu yelled angrily as he madly struggled to get out of the grip of the crow he was being tormented by. The crow simpl chuckled at the struggle Blu was putting up. It almost seemed as if he'd read Blu's actions before he even performed them.

"You macaws are all the same...Predictable and stupid." The crow snickered as he clenched his grip even tighter on Blu, who's face was starting to change to a bright-red color.

"Now, we can do this the easy way...Or the hard way..."

Blu made one last attempt to break out of the grip of the crow, trying to save Jewel and his son, when he suddenly felt himself let go, and before he could even say a word, Blu smashed onto the ground, and the last thing he could think of before his mind went all fuzzy was his mate...And his son...

_"...The hard way..."_

...

A/N: I'm glad to be able to publish this chapter so early!

As you can tell, all of the mafia birds are named after mobster characters from movies. The names I've used have come from The Godfather and Goodfellas, both favorite movies of mine.

Also, I just discovered Rio is being released on DVD on July 5th! WOOHOO!

Finally, hope you enjoyed, and as always:

**READ, ENJOY, REVIEW!**


	4. The Happy Ending

I'm sorry if Chapter 3 seemed...Lackluster, to you. I honestly know I can do better than it, so sorry if you think so! I promise I'll make this chapter better!

Also, PLEASE REVIEW. I'm not getting anything right now, and it really doesn't help when I write these stories only based on what I read from reviews, so I know how to improve on my work...So, REVIEW, whether positive or negative! No trolling, however...I won't accept that, XD

I also have to give **BIG** props to a certain writer named "Project NICK", a fellow Rio fanfiction writer here who was a big part of writing this chapter! This won't exactly be the last time you see me and him collaborating, either...hehe.

...

Chapter 4

The Happy Ending

The mafia birds were currently swooping to a small, abandoned factory only a mile or so out of the jungle. With them were the egg that belonged to the Spix macaws they were after, as well as the female Spix, who was currently struggling and doing a number on Jimmy.

"Boss, I can't do this much longer..." Jimmy muttered, currently being clawed at and yelled at by the female macaw. Meanwhile, Jonny, who was carrying the egg of the macaws, was busy laughing at the sight of Jimmy being beaten on by a girl bird.

"C'mon Jimmy, you only need to carry the damsal for a few more yards..." Vito growled as he flew behind the two of his associates, keeping watch to not let their objectives break free. After all, Nigel would be mad enough knowing they didn't catch the other macaw...But Vito had a feeling he was probably dead by now.

While the blue macaw continued to yell and claw at Jimmy's straw-like legs, Jonny rushed ahead with the egg, apparently spotting the factory they were heading towards.

"That place it, boss?" Jonny asked as he prepared to lose altitude to land down. It didn't help that he needed to be careful in landing thanks to his figure, but he had to be extremely ginger now because of the egg. After all, they already seemingly killed one macaw...Two killed-off macaws would make the insane cockatoo much more mad...

"Looks like it." Vito muttered as he started to descend, when he decided he'd rather have a little fun with their target. Vito quickly swiped the Spix macaw out of Jimmy's talons and then spun himself upside down so he could speak directly to this aggrevated lady bird.

"I don't see what Nigel wants from you. I can't say you look too bad of a bird..." Vito smiled, to which the macaw suddenly had a shocked expression.

"Nigel? _He's_ behind this?" The macaw asked, her tone suddenly sharpening in anger. Vito wasn't surprised to see that now the Spix was even angrier than before, and was clawing and biting even more violently now at the crow.

"Like I said to your little love bird before...All you macaws are the same." Vito sneered as he began to finally descend towards a large hole in a warehouse.

...

Arthur was quickly bolting across the jungle floor, constantly being pelted by the rain that only allowed a line of sight about 5 feet in front of him, when Wally suddenly rushed towards him and sloppily landed into the mud and skidded about 5 feet before he stopped in front of Arthur. The seagull quickly jumped back up and started hyperventilating.

"Artie... Big trouble! Some tough-lookin' birds attacked everyone! Pedro...Nico...Blu...And they got Jewel and Carlos man!" Wally yelled loudly. Arthur couldn't make out much of Wally's rushed talking, but when he mentioned 'attacked' and his friends, he knew there was something bad going down.

"Wait, what? The farmhouse is burning? Timmy fell in the well?" Arthur asked rapidly, trying to understand it. All of the sudden, Wally grabbed the Spix by the head and shook him rapidly, trying to knock sense into him.

"Artie, right now is not time for pop culture! These mafia birds, they ambushed everyone! They got Jewel and her egg!" Wally exclaimed, quickly dragging Arthur through a huge bunch of bushes unti they reached a small clearing, where Rafael and Bobby were frantically flying around, trying to find their friends who were attacked.

"Wally, I found Nico!" Rafael exclaimed from a tree above the clearing. The rain wasn't helping the search effort at all, as the distance everyone could see in front of them became smaller and smaller. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack...In some way or another.

Wally quickly jumped up into the tree above and ran besides Rafael, who was inspecting a still-knocked out Nico.

"Nico? Nico? _Você está bem, amigo?_" Rafael asked, poking the unconscious canary, his tone constantly sounding more worried at every word.

"C'mon Nico! You're my little, yellow buddy! You're too tough to go out like this, man!" Wally yelled, begining to become so desperate that he began to smack Nico in the face to try and wake him up.

"Wally, I don't think-"

"QUIET ARTIE!"

**SMACK**

"Wally-"

"WAKE UP NICO!"

**SMACK**

All of the sudden, Nico's eyes flew open like window blinds, but Wally failed to notice this and dealed another smack to Nico's face.

"Wally wait-"

**SMACK**

"WALLY-"

**SMACK**

"I'M AWAKE, MAN!"

Wally stopped halfway and finally noticed the now-awake Nico.

"Nico! You're alive!" Wally exclaimed as he hugged Nico, not noticing he was practically choking him.

"Yeah, no thanks to you, man!" Nico sqweaked out, trying to pry himself out of the grip of the seagull. Wally quickly let go of Nico, only because of the fact he suddenly spotted Pedro flying up as well with Bobby.

"Nico, you alright?" Pedro exclaimed with a scared tone as he rushed to his canary friend.

"Besides being knocked out and almost being choked to death, I'm just peachy, man." Nico responded sarcastically with a smile. All of the sudden, everyone realized who they had forgotten...

"BLU!"

All the birds quickly flew over to the hollow that the two Spix macaws lived, and quickly started to bolt around to try and find the macaw in question.

"Blu! Buddy!" Wally yelled out, running around and around the tree the blue macaw usually lived in. All of the sudden, he stepped on something solid, and the seagull stopped dead in his tracks.

"Uh...Blu?" Wally said slowly, looking down to see Blu, lying in a huge puddle of mud. The thing that stuck out the most, however, was that Blu was knocked out...Perhaps even...

"Guys!" Wally screamed out as he waved his wings wildly as he tried to get the attention of eveyone so they'd come over. The first to get over were Arthur and Petricious, who both exchanged concerned looks as soon as they gazed upon the motionless body of Blu.

"Blu...Buddy?" Arthur mummered, inspecting his friend closely as he cocked his head and suddenly donned a concerned expression. Arthur raised his head and then began to realize...That Blu may be..._Dead..._

"Raf...He's ganna be okay, right?" Arthur asked with a half-hearted tone. Rafael simply replied with an sad expression and a sigh. Arthur couldn't believe it...No, it had to be wrong...

"Wally, he isn't dead, right?" Arthur asked with a now-paranoid tone. Wally simply had a perplexed expression donned on. Arthur sat still, an expression of dumbfoundment on his face. All the sudden his eyes started to wobble and become moist, and his bottom jaw started to quiver. Then, in an explosion of emotion, Arthur suddenly bawled out and fell to the ground in sheer sadness.

"Oh Blu...WHY?" Arthur screamed into the raining sky, the rain continuing to patter down onto his face. Arthur looked at the motionless body of Blu, still not being able to believe the sight in front of him.

"Blu...I don't know if you can hear me...But do you remember what happened after I was shot by Krieg?...Remember how I gave up, but you never did...Well Blu boy, I'm not giving up...Don't do what I did, man...COME BACK, MAN!" Arthur shrieked as he fell on top of Blu's body...How could it be, Arthur thought. After Krieg was killed, this life was supposed to be perfect for him...Why did this world have to take Blu? This wasn't anything that Arthur expected at all from his new life...His best friend...Was gone...

"Worst of all...I'll never be able...to hear his sweet little voice again..." Arthur stuttered as he dug his head into his friend's motionless body...Which was strangely moving a bit...

"...That's because you're standing on my lung..."

Arthur suddenly raised his head in confusion. It sounded like Blu, but how could that be?...

"Blu?...Are you speaking from that bird cage above the clouds?" Arthur asked, still oblivious to what was really happening.

"No, I'm speaking from under the bird on the ground..."

Arthur's eyes popped open, and he suddenly lifted himself up quickly and saw the eyes of his blue buddy slightly open, his face suddenly full of life once more. Arthur blinked his eyes rapidly in disbelief. Arthur then quickly picked up his fellow Spix macaw and hugged him with all his might.

"Oh Blu buddy! You scared the daylights out of me! I thought I'd never see ya again!" Arthur exclaimed, waltzing around while hugging Blu, who was still trying to recoil from the time he'd been unconscious.

"I...don't believe it." Rafael muttered with a smile in disbelief. Everyone had looks of disbelief as well.

"Look Artie, where's Jewel?" Blu shouted, trying to get the attention of everyone. Arthur stopped in his tracks, and the dropped Blu onto the ground while he realized the situation.

"Blu, Jewel got kidnapped by this group of birds! We gotta go after them!" Pedro exclaimed rapidly. Blu suddenly remembered the birds from before, and stood up from the mud-covered jungle floor with a determined expression.

"We have to go after them! Do you know where they're taking her?" Blu asked quickly, to which the cardinal replied with a shrug. However, Wally and Bobby both jumped and ran front and center.

"We know!" Bobby yelled out like an excited schoolgirl, his usually small eyes wide open in excitement.

"They said they were taking her to the old factory in Ipanema!"

"Wait...These guys sound real familiar..." Rafael butted in, hesitating for a moment at the sudden exposition on these birds that had captured Jewel.

"Rafael, we don't have time to think about this! We have to save Jewel before they hurt her OR Carlos!" Blu exclaimed with a concerned tone as he started to fly off, when Arthur quickly grabbed onto his foot and dragged him back down.

"Hold on, Blu buddy! They're expecting you to burn in there without a plan! We need a plan that'll throw all of them off...Huddle, people!" Arthur exclaimed, motioning everyone to gather together so he could explain his apparent plan.

...

"You LOST one of the macaws?"

Meanwhile, the old, abandoned factory in Ipanema was erupting into noise as Nigel had just discovered that the bird mafia had failed him.

"We didn't lose 'em, Prima Donna! The guy wasn't cooperating and I killed him!" Vito said back, his voice equal with rage. Vito had enough of the cockatoo bossing them around. The birds doing the business had more power than the paying bird, Vito thought.

"I told you _I _was going to take care of them!" Nigel yelled, his voice suddenly gaining a demonic quality. Nigel wanted the macaws captured first. Of course he was going to depose of them at some point...But this just ruined the fun for him.

"Why don't ya go fall in a well, Nigel?" Jonny interupted, causing all of the mafia except Vito gasp in shock. Nigel slowly tilted his head towards the small, orange robin, his face a look of surprise. Nigel's expression suddenly gained a enraged quality, his eyes suddenly starting to blaze with anger as he began to trudge towards the robin. Before Jonny could even regret the insult, Nigel suddenly let out a shriek of pure rage and quickly grabbed the robin and began to squeeze him with his talons. All of the birds in the room could only look on in horror as Jonny started to lose his breath. It suddenly became clear that Nigel wasn't trying to scare the robin...he was trying to kill him...

"You take your freakin' claws off him!" Jimmy yelled, ready to attack Nigel before Vito suddenly tackled the cockatoo, sending both of them crashing to the floor. Both of the birds were in a quick daze, but Nigel was able to muster strength quicker and quickly pinned Vito to the ground.

"Anyone else want to defy me?" Nigel yelled out to the mafia, all of the birds in a scared state of mind in the face of such power. The mafia knew their limits, and when their boss was pinned, they knew when they were beat.

"Now, all of you go and watch for any of the pretty bird's friends to come! The last thing I can deal with is you morons screwing up again!" Nigel exclaimed, getting off the crow and then kicking him in the chest hard. Jimmy quickly sprinted over to see if Vito was okay.

"Boss, you alright?" Jimmy said frantically as Nigel quietly watched the situation unfold. He'd never had so much fun inflicting pain before. Likely a guilty please, he thought to himself as slowly walked off to torture a _different _bird.

"Yeah...I'm just real pissed." Vito sneered, shooting a death glare over to the white cockatoo that was making his way over to a large cage, containing Jewel and the still-unhatched Carlos. Jewel wasn't paying attention to the ending-part of the fighting, as the news of Blu dying had suddenly thrown a curveball to her emotions, and sent her into silent crying. While a whole array of emotions were slamming into her at the moment like the waves of the ocean into a mountain, Nigel was busy staring in pleasure at the silent display of grief.

"Such a sad thing a broken heart is..."

"Well, at least I got something out of this..." Nigel said with a sly grin as he ran his claw across the cage bars in front of Jewel.

"Looks like you and your 'friends' get along real well, huh?" Jewel said with an emotionless expression, to which Nigel rolled his eyes in anger.

"Oh pretty bird...It's a little strategy that my family came up with called 'resourcing'. You play the right cards, make a few friends, and then dump them off once your deed is done. You can't make friends without making enemies...You should know that by now." Nigel said with his cackly laugh. The cockatoo's attention suddenly shifted to the egg beside Jewel.

"How sweet. Going to have a little Spix Junior?...Such a shame his useless, flightless papa won't be there for him..." Nigel said with a devilish grin, this comment suddenly enraging Jewel, who angrily swiped at Nigel and managed to claw his face. Nigel staggered back, groaning in pain from the giant scar he just received, but then he suddenly began to laugh madly.

"You know, you really shouldn't have done that..." Nigel said with an evil chuckle. The cockatoo then quickly rushed forward and plowed into the cage, sending the cage, along with Jewel and the egg, smashing into the wall behind them. Before Jewel could regroup, Nigel quickly opened the cage and swiped the giant egg out and shut the cage once more.

"Don't you dare hurt my Carlos!" Jewel yelled angrily, running to the front of the cage and attempting to grab Nigel so she could strangle him to death, but to no avail.

"You know, it'd be a shame if the next little Spix were to turn into egg yolk..." Nigel said with a grin, placing one foot on top of the egg. Jewel stopped for only a second to realize what Nigel was doing...

"Nigel, you let my baby go!" Jewel sqwuaked angrily, trying to break open the cage so she could destroy this cockatoo once and for all. Nigel was about ready to stomp on the egg and kill the poor thing inside, when a yell from across the warehouse suddenly caught his attention.

"Blue macaw at 5 o' clock!"

Nigel was about to yell at the owl who had shouted from across the warehouse, when he suddenly realized that the crow didn't kill Blu after all...Perhaps this would be fun, Nigel thought to himself. Nigel flew over quickly to the balcony that the owl was perched on with a set of binoculars, when he finally spotted a small blue bird running toward the warehouse. Nigel smiled slyly, knowing in his mind this was Blu coming to save his damsal in distress.

Outside the warehouse, Vito and his cronies saw the nefarious cockatoo above their heads, who ordered, "Ok, you screwballs, the other birds are yours... but the cerulean bird is mine!"

"Doesn't that mean blue?" asked Johnny, and Vito rolled his eyes. With an evil laugh, Nigel led his henchman toward the group of pathetic birds, and the first thing he grabbed was the Spix Macaw.

"Now, then," growled Nigel, with a grin across his face. "How should I begin my revenge on you, my Blu friend?" The Macaw gasped, "That would be an excellent but scary question... if I were Blu."

"WHAT?" Nigel took a closer look at his prey, and saw that he hadn't gotten his nemesis, but a much older looking macaw. "If you are not Blu, then where is he?"

...

In the warehouse, Jewel was getting sad and scared, not wanting to believe that Blu was gone. "Oh, Blu..." sobbed Jewel. "I wish I could just hold you one more time." "YOU CAN HOLD ME!" All of a sudden, Jewel jumped in fear, screaming, but then, she saw Blu in front of the cage. "Am I late?" joked Blu.

"Several minutes ago wouldn't have been bad so much," replied Jewel, and the two mates smirked.

Back outside, Arthur had succesfully evaded Nigel, who was unable to find him again.

"Man, I thought I was old! You can't even spot a blue bird that's right in front of you!" Arthur taunted from behind a tree about 10 feet from where Nigel was searching. Nigel growled in anger at the constant taunting that Arthur was delivering.

Also, Vito was fighting Rafael, Nico was against Johnny, and Pedro, along with Bobby and Wally, was fighting Vito's other cronies.

"Vito, what in the hell do we do?" Jonny asked as he crawled into a corner, trying to stay out of the fighting, seeing as he was being beat to a pulp by Nico and Pedro. Vito wasn't having much luck at all against Rafael, and was already torn apart because of the toucan's surprising fighting ability.

"...We'll run like men, Jonny...We run like...MEN-" Vito was cut off when Wally suddenly grabbed hs leg and hurled him across the room. It was clear that these birds didn't the appreciate the mafia messing with their friends, Jonny thought to himself as he was quickly grabbed by Bobby as well.

After being unable to locate Arthur, Nigel had a crazy look in his eye, and he shouted, "THAT'S IT!" Lightning flashed, and everyone looked up at the almost-insane cockatoo. "I want Blu in my grasp right now!" Nico punched and kicked Johnny, and cried, "You'll have to go through his friends first!" Nigel laughed with a nefarious grin, and said, "Fair deal... why don't I start with you?"

...

Back in the abandoned warehouse, Blu was almost done with trying to open the cage's lock. "How much longer, Blu?" asked Jewel. The tech-savvy bird, who was sticking a chicken bone the size of a needle in the lock, answered, "Almost... done...!"

Meanwhile, Arthur (in his hiding spot) saw all his friends and the Mafia birds being attacked by Nigel, who looked like he had become a bird-version of Hannibal Lecter, but then, his fear increased when Nigel growled, "I bet I know where that bird is..."

"I got it!" exclaimed Blu, and when the lock clicked, he took it off, opening the cage. "All right, my love, now we can..." Before he could finish, Jewel gave him a warm hug, and then, when she let go, Blu couldn't help saying, "Is that all the princess can give to her prince?" Jewel giggled, and she was about to move her beak closer to his, but then, Nigel came right in, and grabbed Blu in his talons, pinning him against the wall.

"Oh, h-hey, Nigel," said Blu. "You look good...how is Mauro?"

"That monkey left Rio to get lost in paradise," replied Nigel. "As for you, I plan to kill you before you can even say..."

"Surf's up, bird-brain!" Arthur glided to the rescue, using all of his strength to knock Nigel away. After Blu fell to the ground, he groaned, but then, Arthur grabbed him, and shook his best pal like mad.

"BLU! Come on, man, don't go into the light! I need you, Jewel needs you..." Just then, a lightbulb went on inside his head. "Hey, wait a sec... I know how to do this!"

So, like a blanket, Arthur spun Blu around and around until the dizzy Macaw cried, "ARTHUR! STOP BEFORE YOU GIVE ME DYSLEXIA!" The reporter-bird released Blu, who shook his head and replied, "But thanks for saving me."

"Well, technically, my buddy," said Arthur. "You and I are even, but you're welcome."

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" Blu and Arthur turned, and saw Nigel, who had Jewel in one claw, while Carlos was in the other. "I hate sweet..."

"Nigel," began Blu. "Let go of my family." The cockatoo laughed. "I have a better idea for you, Blu. What if a vicious bird got angry, and... killed everyone?"

Turning to Jewel, Nigel cackled, "So, let us begin with the girl and egg that started it all, shall we?" With a laugh, Nigel flew out the window, yelling, "Come along, Blu, I don't want you to miss this ending!"

Arthur glanced at Blu with an absolutely horrifed expression and then sqwuaked loudly in terror.

"Bob-O! Wally! We got a damsal in distress!" Arthur yelled out, quickly running to the window after the cockatoo.

"W-what?" Bobby asked in a daze, raising his head from a hole in the wooden-panelled wall that he was thrown into by Nigel.

...

Vito slowly opened his eyes after he heard the other male macaw yell out something to the pigeon only a few feet away from the crow. Vito was able to catch a glimpse of Nigel flying out of the window, however. Vito's eyes narrowed in sheer anger. Nigel had not only made him look like a fool...but also caused all this pain to his family. Vito slowly got up, many of his feathers shearing off as he lifted his aching body up, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to make that cockatoo pay for what he had done...

"That's it! Nigel, you're a dead bird!" Vito yelled as he quickly dashed towards the window, his red eyes bleeding anger.

...

Arthur swung up to the roof of the warehouse, quickly searching for any sign of Nigel. Arthur looked to the other side of the roof, and instantly spotted Nigel, who was levitating slowly over the side of the roof, the egg containing Carlos in one claw and Jewel in the other.

"You insane cockatoo, let them go!" Arthur exclaimed angrily as he slowly made his way over to the cockatoo, when Nigel grinned and then loosened his grip on both of his occupants.

"Temper temper little Artie..." Nigel laughed. "We wouldn't want two little blue macaws to turn into road pizza, would we?"

"Arthur...I think it's time for you to _shut up_ now..." Jewel said quietly. Arthur quickly tried to think of something to do, when Blu quickly joined him on the roof.

"Nigel! Let go of my family!" Blu exclaimed, more determination in his voice this time. Nigel slowly chuckled at the same words used as last time.

"I suppose you expect me to release them? Well-" Nigel was suddenly stopped when a black figure smashed into him from behind him. It turned out to be Vito, who was back to wreak his revenge on the cockatoo.

"You're going to pay for what you've done you psychopath!" Vito screamed, clawing at Nigel and knocking him back down to the roof, who dropped both Jewel and the egg to the roof softly.

"Jewel!" Blu cried out as he bolted towards his mate in joy, without noticing that the scuffle between Nigel and Vito was causing the egg to start shaking towards the edge of the roof...

When Blu caught up to Jewel, he backed his claws against the edge of the roof, stopping them from going any further. He looked at her, and asked, "Is this a habit of yours, Blu? Fallin' off stuff?" She chuckled, and said, "Only when you're around to catch me..."

"HEY!" The two Macaws looked at Arthur, who dodged the fighting antagonists. "AM I INTERRUPTING?"

Blu saw his egg about to fall down, and he cried, "NO!" He quickly chased after it, but then, Nigel grabbed him by the throat, knocked Vito away, and ran up to the warehouse's flag pole.

"BLU!" yelled Jewel, and went after them, while across the roof, Arthur ran after the egg... On the pole, in the villian's clutches, Blu cried, "LET ME GO, YOU CRAZY BIRD!"

Nigel cackled, and exclaimed, "I may be vicious and malicious, Blu, but NEVER crazy. OW!" They looked down to see Jewel, who had thrown a sharp stick at him, yelling, "Nigel! I won't let you take him!"

The cockatoo cried, "We're getting to the end of our story now, pretty birds!"

On the roof, Vito got up, and when he saw Jewel and Blu with Nigel, the mafia leader had a sudden change of heart... Back at the flag, Blu wheezed as Nigel laughed, yelling, "How is this? And they all lived HAPPILY EVER AFTER!"

"And they all lived happily ever after...well, at least I did!" The nefarious bird laughed victoriously, but then, everyone turned their heads to see Vito, who shouted, "I've been waiting forever to do this!"

Coming straight for Nigel, the crow tackled him, and the force made Nigel release Blu. Jewel ran over to her mate, and asked, "Are you all right?"

Blu turned to see Nigel and Vito fly into a garbage truck, and replied, "I'm fine... Why did he save me, though?" Before Jewel could answer, Arthur came over, looking exhausted...and holding the still-unhatched Carlos.

"Blu... Jewel... I hope your next kids hatch faster than Junior here."

Blu, surprised, said, "You saved him?" Arthur nodded, and replied, "What are friends for? Just make sure that your kids are hatched cause I am NOT in my prime."

Blu and Jewel laughed, and to Blu and Arthur's surprise, the young and pretty Macaw hugged the reporter-bird, saying, "Thank you... so much, Arthur." Arthur blushed, and said, "Aw, it was... you're welcome, Jewel. By the way, what happened to Nigel and Vito?"

Blu shrugged, and answered, "Well, they ended up going to the Dump, but I don't know what will happen after that... but I DO know that I want to get home!"

Before anyone could move, the egg that sat next to them began to vibrate violently. The three Spix macaws quickly shifted their attention to the egg and all had looks of worry on. All of the sudden, the egg quickly split open, and out slowly crawled a small pink thing. While it took a bit for Blu and Jewel to realize it, Arthur's eyes lit up in wonder. Arthur bent his head down and stared at his little nephew with an amazed smile.

"Oh my gosh...Jewel, that's your little Carlos!" Arthur whispered with a smile wide across his face. Blu could only share the same amazed expression. He had never seen such a miracle of life occur in front of his eyes before...And most beautiful of all was that this bundle of joy was there's to raise and love.

Blu looked to his mate Jewel, who was completely speechless, however her eyes could tell it all. Jewel's eyes had lit up in complete joy and amazement. Blu and Jewel both shared loving smiles and then looked down at their son, who was currently poking his head out of the egg in complete confusion. This new world, the sounds...Everything was new to the small Spix that had arrived.

"Blu...I'm an uncle," Arthur said, his smile growing wider at every word. "I'm a uncle!"

As the reporter-bird celebrated, both Blu and Jewel bent down to see their new chick, who was currently still weak and unaware of anything that was going on. However, the beauty had stayed in the situation. Both Blu and Jewel could only look at each knowingly, fully aware that their lives would be changed forever. However, seeing this great child they now had, they both knew that perhaps they knew more then they ever had before...And maybe, they were prepared to be parents all this time.

Arthur suddenly stopped when he spotted Petricious flying over, a loving smile on her face when she spotted the newborn Spix next to him.

"So, I guess you want one now?" Petricious asked with a smile. Arthur sighed and then smiled at the two mates that now had their bundle of joy.

"Petricious...I've learned something after all of this...Nature has its ways of telling you that you have a wonderful life...While I'll likely never be able to have a child of my own...I'll at least know that nature has given me the most beautiful bird I've known, and perhaps, nature intended that I always be Uncle Artie...And honestly, that kind of love is enough for anyone..."

Petricious slowly kissed Arthur on the cheek, to which he blushed lightly at the affection. Love had given him much to him...And while a child would likely never come across him, the simple fact that he had somebody to love and people that loved him was enough to gurantee that he indeed had a life that would never stop being worth it...

"So, we ready to welcome little Carlos to the family?" Blu asked as Carlos began to attempt to stand up on his own. Jewel smiled lovingly their chick, and then glanced over at Arthur, who's eyes were now lit up with all of the joy he was experiencing in his mind.

"Sure...Let's show him the love he'll always live with...We'll call it a nice 'Prologue' to his story..."

...

**A/N: And THAT is how I'll cap it off, my friends!**

**Look out for an Epilogue, which you will HAVE to read if you truly love this fic...Let me just say that Headlines isn't the end of this story of Arthur Jenkins...Stay tuned, my friends. ;)**

**So, until I post the Epilogue:**

**READ, ENJOY AND REVIEW!**


	5. Epilogue

HELLO READERS!

Alright, my author's note will be somewhat important this time around:

REVIEWS. PLEASE. REVIEWS.

Next, most of this chapter was a collaboration between me and Project NICK. I'm glad to work with him because he's an awesome writer, and I can't wait to work more with him in the future.

Third, I currently DO have another story lined up for the character of Arthur Jenkins. The tenative title of the fic is "Rio IV", seeing as my title ideas have worn thin. However, I won't be writing the fic alone...Everything will be revealed soon enough, my friends.

Also, I have a gripe...You know the "theme song" for Rio, correct? Telling the World by Taio Cruz...I recently discovered that the song is NOT a wide release, which means it'll likely NEVER achieve the poularity it deserves...Taio...**WHY?**...Quite frankly, that's a thing called "wasted talent". That is THE BEST Taio Cruz song! It's unbelievably good, and yet they don't release it for the Billboards, or hell, INDIVIDUALLY on iTunes?...Well, I guess Telling the World will only be popular with people who saw Rio...

Now...EPILOGUE TIME

...

Chapter 5

**EPILOGUE**

"You're LEAVING?" Arthur could not believe what he was hearing. It had been a few days since Carlos had fully hatched, but today had just started to become hurtful...

"Look, I am so sorry," said Petricious. "But Jeff, my agent, just got me a job of performing all around the world, starting in Los Angeles... and ending in Bangkock."

The former reporter bird muttered, "That guy is sneaky, hon, and I KNOW that he hates me."

"Hey, Jeff does not hate you," exclaimed Petricious. "He Justs hate that you punched him."

Arthur cried, "Because he asked if you had a nice SET."

The parakeet said, "No, he asked if I had a nice 'TV' set... and so this way, you can have the family that you've always dreamed of." The Macaw became quiet, and Petricious said, "Look, we can still be friends. And as your friend, I want you to be happy, and raise a family." Before Arthur could speak, they heard Jeff yell, "Let's go, superstar, time is money!" The macaw hollered, "All right, sheesh, wait!"

Arthur looked at Petricious, who finished with, "I gotta go... and I hope you find what you're looking for." Then, she gave him one last hug, and Arthur said, "Will I ever see you again?"

The parakeet nodded, and replied, "I'll come back here as soon as I get the chance... Good-bye, Arthur." With that, Petricious flew away, along with her raven agent, and Arthur watched with sadness. Unfortunately, the young Macaw began to fall into a deep depression. Nobody knew why, but Blu guessed that it was because of the fact that no other female Spix Macaw was alive, and Jewel was already taken. While all of this was true, Arthr just cared about one thing...And the thing he cared about was love in his life...The only thing he had that was giving his life a meaning...

...

It was a late Sunday afternoon when Arthur was busy staring into the small lake that was in the middle of the forest. The Spix macaw had recently resorted to seclusion, and would constantly ignore the birds around him. The days he'd sit in his nest alone would turn into weeks, then into months...And soon enough, it was a year after Petricious left and Arthur still sat alone with only himself to call company. Arthur had missed countless things...Blu and Jewel had already had a second kid, named Sergio...Arthur almost felt as if...As if he was in that old house that belonged to Andrew Perkins...Alone...Without love..._Without meaning..._

Arthur stared deep into the lake in front of him, looking at the reflection of himself with sadness filling inside his eyes. Arthur suddenly felt sick, and suddenly felt himself lose control of his mind. Before he knew it, his head was splashed underwater, and his sole intention was of one climax..._Death..._

Before this could occur, however, Arthur felt himself get pulled out quickly and thrown to the ground. Arthur opened his eyes to come face-to-face with the seagull Wally, who had a confused and scared look in his face.

"Artie...What the heck are you doin'?" Wally exclaimed, waving his wings wildly in confusion. Arthur sighed deeply and then stared back to the lake he had just attempted to commit a horrible act to himself...Arthur suddenly realized...

"Artie, what are you thinkin'?" Wally yelled, suddenly starting to sob in pure anger and confusion. Wally knew EXACTLY what Arthur had tried, and it was tearing him up to now know Arthur was considering such a thing.

"Wally...Buddy..." Arthur started, his voice a mere sqweak of his original voice that was full of life. Wally glanced at his Spix macaw pal, his face scared with confusion. It almost hurt Wally more, knowing that his friend was now thinking his life didn't have importance.

"...Help me, Wally..." Arthur said quietly, his voice cracking as he broke down and began crying as he rested his head on Wally, who almost felt like he was ready to cry with the poor blue macaw.

"Don't worry about it Artie," Wally stuttered. "We're your friends...And as friends, we have to help you out, buddy..."

...

**_One year later..._**

Arthur slowly poked his head out of his hollow, his face donned with only a straight expression. It hadn't taken long for Arthur to realize that his nest felt completely empty without a mate...Rather, a 'friend' to occpuy it...

Arthur slowly flapped down to the ground of the forest and quickly spotted Blu, who Artie noticed had been rapidly flying back and forth from the hollow to somewhere else about 3 times, bringing back different types of food each time. This time, however, Arthur decided to ask what was up.

"Hey Blu!" Arthur called up, the book-worm Spix suddenly taking attention of Arthur. Blu was actually surprised to see the reporter Spix now out and about. After all, Blu wasn't oblivious to the problems that Arthur had experienced the last few years.

"Uh, hey Arthur!" Blu greeted, suddenly remembering he should be good to the emotionally-hurt Spix that was currently trying to forget the pain he'd been feeling the last few years.

"So, what's with all the nourishment? You having a picnic?" Arthur asked, glancing up to Blu's hollow and noticing a loose mango poking out from the hole.

"Oh, I'm just making a lunch for my family. After all, it's the least I could do to show my love Jewel and the kids." Blu smiled as he thought of his 3 wonderful children and his equally wonderful mate, Jewel.

"How are your kids, anyway? Carlos speak yet?" Arthur asked, remembering that Carlos had never actually talked to anyone yet. Arthur, truthfully, had no idea Blu and Jewel had 3 kids. He was aware of Sergio and Carlos, but Blu and Jewel's third child, Ruby, was completely unknown to him...

"Oh, they're fine. No, Carlos didn't talk yet. We're trying, though!" Blu laughed. Arthur smiled lightly, actually enjoying the conversation he was carrying. Not only was it nice to talk to his best friend, but it was great to be able to catch up once again after secluding himself a few years ago.

"You want to stick around and eat too? We have more than enough!" Blu offered, truthfully trying to make Arthur happy for once in the last few years.

"Nah, me and the boys were going to go to Copacabana for a few days. Going to get lost in paradise, my friend!" Arthur replied, actually surprising himself with how happy he sounded. Perhaps he actually felt better after all this time.

"Well, alright! See you...In a few days, I guess!" Blu called out as Arthur quickly took off into the sky. Blu was confused at the sudden turn-around of Arthur, but happy that his friend had finally recovered from the heart break of Petricious a few years ago.

...

On the night before going to Copacabana, Arthur was sleeping inside his nest, covered in a bird-sized blanket that Tulio had made for him.

"I'm glad that I feel like this again," thought Arthur. "It's made me realize that your friends are what matter the most in... zzzz" The blue bird began to fall asleep, for a few hours, but it only seemed a few minutes when he heard a voice cry, "Well, I'm good at catching games!"

After that, he saw a big bird fly away, holding a smaller bird, which looked like...

"BLU!" In a flash, Arthur went after his friend, but then, the big bird looked at him, and used his wing to smack Arthur into a tree. The Macaw fell to the ground, and before his weak and tired eyes closed, the last thing Arthur saw was a U-Haul van head to the Rio de Janiero shipyard...

The next day, Arthur was searching every part of the sanctuary for Blu, but all he found out was that Blu, Jewel, their kids, Pedro, Nico, and Rafael were gone! "This can't be happening!" cried Arthur. "Where are my friends?"

"Uh, right here, dummy!" Arthur turned around to see Wally and Bobby, who both looked like they were going to Hawaii.

"You ready for the best vacation ever?"

Arthur shook his head. "Not right now, you guys... Blu and the others are missing!"

The seagull gasped, and asked, "Even the 3 Macaw kids?"

"Uh-huh," replied Arthur. "And I remember a moving van leaving to the shipyard, so Wally, go check that place out, and Bobby, keep helping me find them!"

Several hours later, Arthur and Bobby had given up searching the sanctuary, but then, Wally flew over, and told them, "Ok, I saw this bad-looking dude, and a sad...kinda nice one, leave in a boat, but so did Blu's two human friends, along with a man wearing an eye-patch. I think they went to look for Blu and the others, as well." Arthur frowned in confusion.

"But if our friends aren't in Rio... Where could they be?"

...

What Arthur was unaware of, however, of where all of his friends were taken. Blu, along with all of his friends, ended up being birdnapped by none other than the cockatoo Nigel once more. This lead into all of them being stranded in the Amazon Rainforest, where constant threats always appeared. Heck, even Blu _died, _or barely avoided it, if you prefer. With all of it settled, the birds were able to get back to Rio de Janeiro, and even Pedro and Nico ended up with girlfriends...Or, at least Pedro could call her a 'girlfriend' for a few weeks before he proposed to the lady cardinal he met in the Amazon, who was apparently named Robyn.

Of course, Arthur, along with the rest of Pedro's friends ended up being invited to the wedding. Blu, as well as the rest of Arthur's friends, were surprised to see he took the idea of love staring him in the face very well. Then again, Arthur assured he wouldn't act jealous, especially for an awesome bird like Pedro. Arthur decided to enjoy himself, and knew he wouldn't ever betray his cardinal friend when he'd known him for so long. Selfishness wasn't necessary...

...

It had been mere days since Arthur attended the wedding between Robyn and Pedro when he suddenly heard a commotion coming from down below his hollow. Arthur turned his head to the jungle outside and sighed softly. It felt much more different now that he awoke to nothing but a blank space where his lovely parakeet lover used to be. Two years without her was too long, Arthur thought to himself. Maybe something happened? Maybe she was in trouble? Arthur's mind juggled with these thought, but it was all in vain, considering he had no idea where to look, even if he wanted to.

Arthur poked his head out of the hollow of the tree and quickly spotted a few of his friends down below. Arthur could easily make out the figures of Rafael, Nico, Flora, Nico's new girlfriend, and the kids. Strangely, though, Blu and Jewel were no where to be found, nor was Pedro or Robyn. Arthur was suddenly curious at the absense of his bestest friends, and quickly floated down to the floor of the jungle and quickly ran over to the birds.

"Hey gentlemen and Flora!" Arthur greeted with a wide grin. Everyone quickly turned and were surprised to spot Arthur running towards them.

"Artie! Great to see ya!" Nico greeted back, floating up to eye level with Arthur.

"Hi Uncle Artie!" The blue macaws kids greeted as they ran over and began climbing on top of him. Arthur shot a glance over at Rafael, who smiled back. Arthur could still remember the days when Rafael's kids would tackle him, and while the Spix kids weren't that bad, they still climbed all over him. Arthur was busy thinking about this when he suddenly realzied that Carlos had talked.

"Holy Page One, Carlos! Did you finally talk?" Arthur exclaimed surprisingly.

"Yeah, the little guy just did a second ago! He's ganna sing a song to his dad when he gets back, too." Nico explained promptly. Arthur was suddenly caught off guard when he mentioned Blu not being there.

"Wait, Blu's not here? Where is the old bookbird?" Arthur asked with a puzzled tone.

"You just missed him, actually. Blu and Jewel went on a _lua de mel_. Pedro and Robyn, too!" Rafael said gladly, not realizing the importance of his words and what Jewel would likely do to him when she found out that he informed Arthur of where they were. Of course, however, Arthur still had a puzzled expression on his face.

"...Sorry Rafi, not familiar with too much Portuguese." Arthur said flatly, to which Nico shot a smile over to Rafael, who rolled his eyes in return.

"Blu and Jewel are on a honeymoon. Pedro and Robyn too." Nico explained. Arthur smiled widely when a 'honeymoon' was mentioned.

"That's great! I should come out there and visit 'em!" Arthur exclaimed happily as the Spix macaw kids continued to use him as a living jungle gym. However, both Rafael and Nico shot concerned glances to each other.

"Uh...That might not be a good idea..." Rafael said slowly. Nico nodded in agreement and continued.

"Yeah...The ladies aren't exactly going to be happy if someone crashes their honeymoon..." Nico said as his voice trailed off. Arthur smirked and then slowly eased the blue macaw kids off of him.

"Please, they all love me! I'm always the life of a party! Besides, I **AM **part of the family..." Arthur smiled happily as he began to walk away.

"Bobby! Wally! Pack your bags, we're heading to Canada! It's love trip time!"

While Arthur flew off, Rafael, Nico and Flora all exchanged worried expressions.

"You guys are _REALLY_ ganna regret telling him about that..." Flora muttered.

"You got that right, _senhora_." Nico muttered with a befuddled expression.

...

A/N: Alright, so I'm sure you know what's going to happen next...And if not, you've been living under a rock, xD

If you're aware of who Project NICK is, he's another very talented Rio fan-fiction writer here. He's written such fics here like "Lost in Paradise" and "Love Trip". As you can tell, there's a few...similarities between our fics...

Well, they're all intential, because we are in fact making a **CROSSOVER FAN-FIC!**

That's right, we're going to merge our storylines and characters together into one big, epic fic! Be prepared for action, romance, music, and of course...**RIO!**

Ladies and gentlemen, stay tuned, because my...OUR next fic is going to be...

**RIO: FEAR AND FEATHERS IN LAS VEGAS**

**WRITTEN BY TED WAKEMAN AND PROJECT NICK!**

P.S

The next chapter of Brazilian Macaw Theater 3000 (Which has received OVERWHELMING reception) will likely be released very soon. It actually isn't as hard to write a chapter for that as it is this one!


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